Most pediatric breathing concerns are not emergencies. But the first job of any safe pediatric pulmonology guide is to make sure your child is not the small group who needs urgent in-person care. The navigator below does that — then points you to the closest guide for the pattern you actually see.
Stop and seek urgent in-person care if your child has any of: severe breathing difficulty, blue or grey lips, chest pulling in (indrawing), grunting, pauses in breathing, unusual drowsiness, inability to feed or drink, low oxygen if measured, persistent fast breathing with distress, choking history, sudden silent chest, or rapidly worsening illness. These are not for video review.
Step 2 — Which symptom worries you most?
Pick the one that fits best. If your child has more than one symptom, start with the one that started first or feels most concerning. The guides overlap where they should.
Cough that wakes the child or comes mainly at night — for several days or weeks.
Cough that has not settled for more than four weeks, even after the cold seemed to go.
Cough that comes back after every cold, every few weeks, or every winter.
A whistling sound from the chest for the first time — usually during or after a cold.
Wheeze that has happened more than once or twice in a toddler — with or without colds.
When recurrent wheeze in a 3–6 year old child may be early asthma — and when it is not.
Frequent reliever use, night cough, exercise symptoms or repeated flare-ups in a child already labelled with asthma.
Persistent blocked nose, sneezing, itchy eyes, mouth breathing or noisy sleep due to allergy.
Breathing that seems faster than usual — review the rate and what to watch alongside it.
More than one pneumonia in a year, or pneumonia that keeps coming back to the same area.
Confusion about devices, dose, spacer or mask seal, or repeated nebulization at home.
Snoring, sleep breathing, repeated infections, complex lung concerns or another pattern — see the full conditions hub.
Step 3 — Is a stable video review appropriate?
Video consultation is for stable symptoms — pattern review, technique check, report review and next-step planning. It is not for acute distress or rapidly worsening illness. Use this checklist to decide.
- — Stable recurrent cough, night cough or weeks-long cough
- — Wheeze pattern review and preschool asthma questions
- — Asthma control review and action-plan questions
- — Allergy-linked breathing and sleep breathing concerns
- — Inhaler, spacer, mask or nebulizer technique doubts
- — Report and prescription review
- — Severe breathing distress or chest indrawing
- — Blue or grey lips, drowsiness, limpness
- — Poor feeding, grunting, pauses in breathing
- — Persistently low oxygen if measured
- — Choking history or sudden silent chest
- — A child who looks very unwell
Step 4 — What to send for stable review.
Before requesting video consultation, you will be asked for the basics — child age, main symptom, duration, allergy or sleep clues, current medicines, previous prescriptions, reports and short safely-recorded videos if relevant.
You will not be asked to pay before the safety triage. If video review is not safe or suitable, you will be told that — and pointed to the right next step, which may be in-person care.
A short, clear list of what to prepare before requesting a stable video review.
Send the breathing story for safety and suitability review.
A short referral framework for pediatricians, GPs and ENT colleagues.
Parent questions.
i.Why does the navigator start with emergency signs?
Because safety always comes first. Most pediatric breathing concerns are not emergencies, but a small number are — and they should not wait online. Screening these first protects your child.
ii.Does answering questions here book a consultation?
No. The navigator only helps you find the right guide and decide whether a stable video review may be appropriate. Booking and payment happen only after a separate suitability review.
iii.What if my child has more than one symptom?
Most pediatric respiratory situations have more than one symptom — that is normal. Pick the one that worries you most or that appeared first, and the guide will point to related conditions where they overlap.
iv.Can I skip the navigator and contact directly?
Yes. You can reach us through WhatsApp for non-urgent appointment support. But the navigator is faster for figuring out what is going on, what to watch and whether a video review fits.
A calm structured triage is safer than guessing online. These external references shape the safety-first approach used here — they do not replace clinical assessment and do not imply endorsement of this website.
If urgent, do not wait.
The navigator is for stable symptoms. If anything about your child's breathing feels urgent — severe distress, blue lips, drowsiness, poor feeding or rapidly worsening illness — go to in-person pediatric emergency care without delay.